J.P. McFadden, R.I.P.

We bring you this special section about J.P. McFadden to honor him, and to include as part of our record the wonderful tributes that have been written. There are quite a few pieces gathered here, all about the same man, and yet each one brings out different facets of his larger-than-life personality.

My mother's piece, the first, is an intimate portrait of my father's struggle with his illness. It isn't easy to read, and yet we felt that its inclusion in the Review was appropriate. My father's perseverance through so much suffering, and the loss of so much that made up his "quality" of life, is a powerful testament to the man he was and his commitment to accepting life as sacred, no matter what the circumstances.

All of the tributes here were written by friends of J.P. who have also contributed to his Review, including Cardinal O'Connor, who was the first to give us his vote of confidence in the Review's continuance. Two, however, are nearly twenty years old; they are the transcribed remarks made by Malcolm Muggeridge and Judge John T. Noonan, Jr. at a Testimonial Dinner given for J.P. by his friends at National Review (May 21, 1979). We think when you read them you'll understand why we wanted to include them here.

And now I'd like to add one more. Soon after my father died, Nat Hentoff, the Village Voice columnist, prolific author, and Review contributor, called to offer his condolences. He sent the following letter: What first struck me when I first heard from Jim McFadden was the life in him. The energy and the wit. From time to time, he tried to persuade me to read certain books that might enable me, an atheist, to "leap into faith," as Kierkegaard put it. But always, there was no sternly righteous admonition-just a flick of his wit.

His legacy-very much including his daughter, Maria-is an unequivocal commitment to life. Or pro-life, as some of us describe ourselves. The Human Life Review . . . is by far the most valuable and challenging pro-life journal that, to my knowledge, has ever existed.

HLR continues to reflect Jim's indomitable spirit-challenging, buoyantly principled, and abounding in the life force.

Well, Mr. Hentoff is giving us a lovely vote of confidence. We hope that we will always be inspired, energized and comforted by J.P.'s memory.

Copyright Human Life Foundation, Incorporated Winter 1999
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